<
https://theconversation.com/we-found-a-hidden-source-of-greenhouse-gases-organic-matter-in-groundwater-179957>
"Dry land isn’t really dry. It’s saturated with truly vast volumes of
groundwater, hidden in the spaces of the earth we walk on. How much? Recent
estimates put it at almost two trillion Olympic swimming pools of water stored
in the upper 10 km of continental crust.
Groundwater has been hugely beneficial to us for use in agriculture or as
drinking water. As the world warms and waterways dry up, this extraction will
only increase. But there’s a hidden problem. We used to think the organic
matter in groundwater didn’t react when brought up. Sadly, the reverse is true.
Our new research published in Nature Communications has found when groundwater
– especially from deep down – is pumped to the surface, it brings with it
dissolved organic matter preserved from long ago. Once sunlight and oxygen hit
this matter, it can easily turn into carbon dioxide.
Unfortunately, that means groundwater is likely to be yet another source of
planet-heating greenhouse gases, and one which is not included in our carbon
budgets. How large? We estimate up to the same amount of dissolved organic
carbon as that pumped out by the Congo River each year, the world’s second
largest by volume.
This problem is set to increase, as over-extraction of accessible groundwater
forces us to hunt for the deeper water, which has much more of this greenhouse
gas-producing organic matter. We must include this unexpected greenhouse gas
source in our carbon budgets."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
